Award winners announced!

January is one of the biggest months for Children's literature. That is when the award winners for the John Newbery and the Randolph Caldecott Medals are announced during the American Library Association mid-winter conference

The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

This years winner is Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

Past winners have included: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle and Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.

The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

This years winner is A Sick Day for Amos McGee, illustrated by Erin E. Stead, written by Philip C. Stead.

Past winners that have become classic Children's books are: The Snowy Day, Where the Wild things Are and Polar Express.

Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day today, we thought we would highlight some materials and events.

The Main library is hosting various lectures and movies this month. Click here to see when they are. That page also includes a longer booklist.

These books are located in the children's collection:

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy's attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site.

also

Why are the Ice Caps Melting? The Dangers of Global Warming. by Anne Rockwell

Explains what the Greenhouse Effect is and what can be done to combat it.

Located in Teen

The secret under my skin by Janet McNaughton.

In the year 2368, humans exist under dire environmental conditions and one young woman, rescued from a workcamp and chosen for a special duty, uses her love of learning to discover the truth about the planet's future and her own dark past.

In the adult collection:

Cool green stuff : a guide to finding great recycled, sustainable, renewable objects you will love by Dave Evans.

This book collects the latest in environmentally conscious--yet incredibly stylish--products. Each product is accompanied by a brief description explaining its environmental significance.

The green book : the everyday guide to saving the planet one simple step at a time by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen

For anyone who cares about the health of our planet, this invaluable guide offers hundreds of simple, actionable steps readers can take to help save the Earth.

Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before by David Attenborough

This beautiful coffee-table book is a offshoot of the Discovery Channel/ BBC series of the same name. The author takes readers on a visual tour of the many diverse parts of our planets.

Greenopia : the urban dweller's guide to green living, San Francisco Bay Area by Nancy Arbuckle.

This consumer guide is filled with more than 1,400 listings of green retailers, service providers, and organizations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Among the listings are everything from organic restaurants and grocery stores to dry cleaners, organic pest control services, and sustainable building suppliers, landscapers, and interior designers.

Book Spotlight: The Best American Comics 2007

The Best American Comics 2007 edited and with an introduction by Chris Ware.

Currently located in the New Non-Fiction section with the call number of:

741.5973

B4643

2007


Who would of thought comics would find such a welcome home in libraries? Once just relegated to the 10 cent racks at drug stores, comics have now become a well respected artistic medium and had their storylines transformed into big business at the movie theater.

If you haven't picked up a comic since you were in grade school reading Archie, you will probably be blown away by the variety and different levels of content, artistic expression and illustration. Star Wars-inspired graphic novels have a huge popularity in the children's collection, Manga (a Japanese word for comics, as well as indicating a specific style of Comic) rules the roost of the Teen area and the Adult graphic novels has a huge variety of themes-from Mature subject matter in a variety of genres of fiction to Superheroes that serve as the inspiration for the latest hollywood blockbuster.

The San Francisco Public Library currently supports 3 different types of Graphic Novel (comic) collections, Adult, Teen and Children's. At Glen Park they are all in their designated "Graphic Novel" area though some things are still shelved in the call number 741's section.

As with the Adult collection in general, please remember some Adult section titles aren't appropriate for younger ages. If you are looking to read the works of a variety of noted comic artists, The Best American Comics 2007 is a good introduction to modern themes, artists and their artwork. It has an introduction by Chris Ware, whose own work is legendary for both its intricate re-imagination of the drawn comic page as well as personal themes and narratives. The collection includes pieces by R. Crumb, Adrian Tomine, Lynda Barry and many others.

So next time you are at the library, have a look at the graphic novel area. We promise no one will peek out from behind a pharmacy counter while you're browsing and shout, "Hey You gonna buy that or what?? This ain't a library"!!!